Write my love and draw my heart
by ammstar11
Summary: Will is the popular and well liked basketball captain and Nico is the dark artist that no one would think would ever cross paths. When they are assigned a project for class Will is certain that they are sure to get a great grade if he can just convince Nico to add his drawings that are all red black and white. watch as more than just a writing assignment develops between these two.
1. Chapter 1

**Write my love and draw my heart**

 **Story idea by: fangirlingatthreeam**

 **Solangelo Highschool Au where Will is like basketball team captain and really popular and sun shiny and Nico is that one art student whoes drawings are amazing black and white and red but theyre really dark and creepy and they kinda scare people so a lot of people avoid Nico but then Will gets assigned to write a creative piece from his advanced english class for like a school showcase so he talks (read:bugs) Nico into helping him and their exhibit just wows everyone even if it freaks them out a little.**

 **And if Nico is later seen wearing Wills varsity jacket before a big game? Well, no one comments.**

Will Solace has always been well liked by everyone who knows him and he has a way of getting along with pretty much everyone, he's kind, caring, and athletic, so it went without saying that he was very popular.

Nico di Angelo is the dark and lonely artist type that most people stay clear of because they are a little scared by his dark clothes and quiet personality but most of all his drawings that are always done in red and black ink on stark white paper making the images more dramatic and horrifying.

No one would have ever expected these two to ever have anything in common or to even get along, so imagine the surprise when these two pair up for a class project and get closer than anyone could have guessed.

 **Ch.1**

Senior year had been going pretty well so far; Will was captain of the basketball team, his grades were going well, he had plenty of friends and he thought that he could handle anything that came his way, that was at least until his AP English teacher assigned a project that required partner work and he got paired up with Nico di Angelo, his secret crush.

The project was a writing assignment that could include any accompaniment such as artwork, dioramas, video trailers, or dramatic reproductions (read: short plays). Will had some confidence in his writing abilities but he knew that with Nico working with him then they were sure to get an amazing grade if Nico's artwork was involved.

…

Will had admired Nico and his artwork for years now.

It had all started in freshmen year when Will had been taking a breather after first trying out for the basketball team and had decided to catch his breath over on the bleachers. He had been about to head to the locker room to shower and change before heading home when he thought he heard the sound of music playing faintly somewhere nearby. He stood and looked around and as he got closer to the edge of the bleachers the sound became clearer and when he found the source his heart skipped a beat.

Sitting beside and a little behind the bleachers in a small alcove was a boy about his age dressed from head to toe in black with headphones around his neck, the music playing loud enough that Will could hear it from where he stood. The boy seemed too absorbed in what he was working on to notice Will though.

Will was curious about what he seemed so intent on so he moved closer to get a better look.

As he got closer he saw that it was a sketchbook that the boy was holding, and he had his supplies sitting next to him Will noted as he saw a pencil, eraser, and black pen that went with the red one that he was currently using on whatever it was he was working on.

Will loved art and was really interested in what it might be that this boy was drawing with only these two colors so he decided to announce his presence.

"Um, hey there… what are you working on?" Will felt bad when he saw the boy jump when he heard Will speak to him. "Oh sorry, I didn't mean to startle you like that. I heard your music and saw you drawing something so I was curious."

The boy looked up at him and Will couldn't believe that he had never noticed this boy before, his eyes looked a little sunken in and had faint dark circles under them like he had lost sleep recently but those same eyes drew Will in even more, they were on the larger side and were so dark he couldn't tell were iris ended and pupil began, they were like twin pools of shadows that he felt like he could get lost in…

Will snapped himself out of his oddly poetic thoughts when he realized that he was staring and likely making the other uncomfortable as a result.

"Sorry, I guess I should probably introduce myself or stop bothering you and mind my own business…" he trailed off when he received no response from the other. "Sorry I'll just go and leave you alone now." He could feel his face burn from his embarrassment as he turned away to head over to the showers like he had planned on doing before.

"It's okay; you can look at it if you want."

Will stopped dead in his tracks when he heard the other boy speak to him, what really caught his attention was the faint accent that he couldn't place. Will turned back to see that the boy had set down his pen and was just holding the sketchbook in his lap, he seemed kind of shy though so Will tried his best not to act too excited about getting permission or that the boy had spoken to him so he calmly walked over to where the other sat and took the sketchbook when the boy passed it to him.

He looked at the page that it had been open to; he assumed that it was the one that he had just been working on. Will was totally mesmerized by what he saw, the bold outlines, the shark angles, the bright red ink mixed with the black ink and white paper gave the image the illusion of leaving the page. Will was blown away by the level of skill he was seeing and though he wasn't quite sure what it was that he was looking at exactly, he still knew that this was incredible talent.

"Wow you are amazing; I've never seen anything so cool. What is this?" he smiled as he looked at the artist sitting in front of him. Apparently this talented artist wasn't used to receiving such praise because his face turned as red as the ink on the page.

"A demon..." he said it hesitantly as though he was sure that Will would criticize him for his choice of subject, but Will just looked closer at the drawing and now that he knew what he was supposed to be looking at he was even more blown away by it.

"Whoa seriously?!" Will smiled even brighter at the boy sitting in front of him, now looking at Will as if he was some kind of strange creature.

"What?" clearly he was confused by Wills response.

"This is amazing! I don't think I've ever seen anything like this before. It would look so cool in a horror movie or in a video game or something! Do you always draw things like this?"

Now the other boy was completely speechless and could only nod in answer to Will's question.

"Really, can I see?" Will was excited to see more of these drawings and the amazing work like this. When the other nodded again Will flipped to another page and saw a drawing of a skull with what seemed to be a single red rose and black thorns encircling the two, again Will couldn't believe the awesome artistic skill shown on a single page.

Will sat down next to the other boy and showed him the page that he was looking at "This is so cool, does it have some sort of meaning behind it?"

But then he remembered being told that an artist's sketchbook could be the same as a diary or journal and therefore should be treated as such "Oh sorry, I guess that's probably personal. But really you have so much talent! Oh and by the way my name is Will, nice to meet you." He held out the sketchbook to hand back to its owner.

"Nico." Well now he had a name to go with the face.

But before Will could say anything more the coach blew his whistle and signaled that tryouts were over and that it was time to head home for the day.

"Well I guess it's time to go, I'll see you around Nico." Will said as he stood up and headed over to head to the showers.

He hoped that he'd get the chance to talk with Nico again sometime.

…

Over the next few years following their first encounter Will and Nico had sat together and talked from time to time.

Nico liked to sit in that same spot and draw whenever he found the time; he claimed that it was secluded enough that people, other than Will that is, wouldn't bother him there. It also meant that when Will finished with practice he'd have a bit of time to talk to Nico and see more of his artwork.

You might be able to call it a friendship but they didn't talk much other than during these times or spend time together any other time. Will blamed it on the fact that he was always busy with something or always talking to someone and couldn't get close to Nico, but his heart soared when in his final year he walked into his AP English class and saw that Nico was in his class. He hoped ever since for a chance to spend more time with Nico and get to know him better.

When their teacher announced this writing assignment Will saw it as a gift from above.

"And the best story and accompaniment will be displayed in the upcoming school wide showcase so I want all of you to put your best effort into this with that in mind."

Well that was unexpected but Will wasn't worried, as long as he could convince Nico to draw some illustrations to go with the story that they come up with then they were sure to do well.

…

The bell rang and the class let out for lunch.

Will quickly packed up his things and headed out to meet Nico by his locker, it was close to the gym which Will had learned one day after leaving practice and finding Nico standing at his locker grabbing a pencil case before heading back to where he had left his sketchbook at his usual spot.

Will was glad to see that Nico was still by his locker when he finally made his way over to him through the crowded hallway.

"Hey Nico!" Will called cheerfully, causing a few curious passersby turn and look at the two of them, as far as anyone else knew these two were as different as night and day so seeing them talking to one another was an odd sight.

Nico turned when he heard Will call out to him. "Oh hey Will, is this about the English assignment?"

Even after four years Will still loved hearing that slight accent when Nico spoke, it had taken some time but Will had eventually learned that it was Italian, though what with Nico's last name it was no surprize. "Huh? Oh yeah!" Will chided himself for getting distracted again but he always got distracted when talking to Nico.

"So I was thinking that we could come up with the story together and you could add some drawings to go along with it, I'm sure that whatever we come up with your drawings would be incredible!" but Nico didn't seem as sure about it as Will did.

"You're the only one who would think that Will." Nico said as he grabbed his bag from his locker, it was only lunch but Nico looked like he was getting ready to leave school for the day.

"But it's the truth, your art is so amazing I'm sure it could really help bring our story to life better than anything else could." Will tried his best to sound convincing.

Nico still didn't seem willing to go along with it though. "I don't know Will, but could we talk about this some other time? I have somewhere to go this afternoon so I won't be here after lunch, good luck in your game later."

Will was a bit surprized by that last part but then again Nico's favorite spot was in the gym so it should come as no surprize that he knew that Will had a game today after school… "Huh? Oh right thanks."

But before Nico could walk away an idea came to Will and he pulled out a pen and reached out for Nico's hand stopping him as he was about to leave and Will wrote his cell number on Nico's arm. "There, this way you can text me later after you've had some time to think things over, no rush though. Just brainstorm some ideas for our story if you want." he gave Nico a bright cheerful smile before turning and heading to his own locker.

 **Hey everyone, this story is based on a head cannon from tumbler, so the story is mine but the original idea was someone else as I've said before.**

 **I'm sorry for not posting any updates for a bit but my life is kind of spiraling downwards, my mom might be losing her job, I'm still jobless and can't afford to go back to school, my hamster died, my grandpa collapsed, things just aren't going well so my writing has kind of been left to the back burner.**

 **(p.s. this was posted a while ago now and since I'm back and correcting some errors I thought I'd make an update: I currently have 3 job (don't recommend) not planning on going back to school just yet, no new hamster, grandpa is better but still worries about him, mom still has her job, and I'm doing my best to get more things written when I have the time and thought process.)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Ch. 2**

Nico kept staring down at the phone number scrawled on his arm where Will had written it. The ink had become smeared a bit because of how nervous he felt about actually using the number. He'd already copied it into his phone but he couldn't bring himself to wash it off just yet.

Nico sat on the bus with his headphones on as he headed towards his weekly appointment, he wasn't too happy with the timing because he had been looking forward to seeing Will's game today but this week's session was expected to take longer than usual.

His teachers knew about these sessions so he was exempt from classes when they came up, he just needed to be sure that he got the notes and assignments that he missed while he was away. It wasn't like he was behind in any of his classes anyway.

These sessions usually occur on Tuesdays but due to this being the anniversary of the reason behind them it had been agreed (quite grudgingly on Nico's part) to reschedule for Thursday this week.

Unfortunately that meant that he wasn't going to be at the game. He knew that that sounded weird seeing as he didn't even follow the game or understands much of it, but it meant not seeing Will or sitting with him afterwards and really that seemed to help him a lot more than professional help did.

Not that he was against professional help or anything; he would just rather talk to someone who felt like a caring friend than sit in a room with someone who was studying him. Nico sighed, he wished this wasn't necessary but knew that there was nothing he could do to change the past. Somethings just can't be changed no matter how much you wished otherwise.

As the bus approached his stop he rang the bell and made his way to the doors, when they opened he thanked the driver and hopped off then headed over to the same old building that he knew so well after all these years.

He clutched the strap of his backpack a little tighter as walked through the door and made his way to the elevator to head up to the office where he would be spending much of the afternoon today.

…

The elevator doors slid open and Nico stepped out and without needed to look at the list on the wall, made the long since familiar trek down the hall to the end and walked into the office of his counsellor that he had been meeting with for the past six years.

He hated that he still needed to come to these sessions but she told him that everyone grieves in their own way and these things take time. She had been the one to help him find an outlet for his grief and that was how he had been introduced to drawing.

After he met his half-sister Hazel he started learning from her and his skills improved to the point that they were at now. He didn't care that most people found his drawings creepy or disturbing because he wasn't drawing them to please people, well for some reason Will really liked them and that really made Nico happy but he wasn't going to admit that to anyone. It had been Hazel who had first suggested using his skills to become a horror graphic novel artist. Will seemed to have the same thought.

…

"Hello Nico, how are you doing this week?" the therapist asked as he sat down in his usual chair and took out his sketchbook before setting down his backpack next to the chair.

"Hey Tina, alright I guess." He said as he flipped to his most recent drawing and set to work as the session began. She watched him for a while and observed that his mood seemed different from it usually was at this time of year.

"Why don't you tell me about your day, I have a feeling something good happened." She watched as his eyes glanced briefly at the numbers scrawled on his arm and she tried to hide her smile.

"We have this project we need to do for English class, I got paired up with a friend of mind and he wants me to do some drawings for the assignment."

She nodded as she made some notes in her book. "That sounds like a good idea, what do you think?"

Nico stared at the drawing he was currently working on and a mix of emotions flitted across his face. "I don't know… most people think my drawings are creepy. Well Will doesn't, he actually likes watching me draw. He says that they're really awesome." He had a faraway look in his eyes as he spoke of his friend and a ghost of a smile played at the edge of his lips.

This was new, usually Nico only talked about his home life or his past. He tended to only give vague answers when it came to school, usually sticking to saying that his grades were going well. To hear him talk so freely of a friend from school seemed like a step in the right direction.

"He sounds like a good friend why don't you tell me more about him, when did you meet him?" she asked hoping to get Nico to open up more.

"He's captain of the basketball team, I met him freshman year in the gym." So they have known each other for a while now then, that was good. "Do you ever go to watch him play?" she asked and Nico nodded.

"We usually sit together after his practices or games and talk." A sad look crossed his face as he stopped drawing. "He has a game today at 3:00 but I won't be there."

Hmmm…

"Well, why don't we see how things go today and if we can get you back in time for the game, shall we?" she asked and he looked up at her.

"Really?"

She smiled at him warmly. "Yes, I'm sure that can be arranged."

…

Nico had managed to get through this week's session in record time. He was really amazed by how much easier it had been to talk about things this time round, he had been able to talk about more happy memories this time and was even able to laugh while looking back instead of feeling an overwhelming sense of grief as he thought about his mother and sister before they had passed away in a horrible accident.

After leaving he had caught the first bus back to school and made it just five minutes into the game. He found a space to watch and silently cheered Will on as he watched the game. Sure he didn't really know what was happening but he knew that Will was doing really well and even joined in with the crowd in cheering as Will made an amazing shot.

…

When the game was over Will hit the showers, they had won by a large margin and the whole team was ecstatic. The cheering going on in the locker room could probably rival that of the crowd from when the clock ran out after the last shot he scored.

After toweling off and getting dressed he dug out his bag and his heart did flips when he saw a text from an unknown number. He opened it and saw that it was from Nico and his smile grew even more when he read it.

 **Unknown: Hey Will it's Nico. Great game, sorry I was a little late but I saw most of it. Meet up in the usual spot?**

Will shot back a fast response as he hurried to get his things together so that he could go meet up with Nico right away.

 **Will: Be right there.**

Will rushed out of the locker room so fast you would have thought that hellhounds were on his heels. He made it over to the usual nook where Nico liked to sit with his sketch book and tried to catch his breath as he leaned against the wall next to him. "Hey, I thought you had an appointment today." He said with a smile as he looked at his friend he hadn't expected to be here.

Nico shrugged nonchalantly "I got out earlier than anticipated. I thought I'd drop by and see how the game was going and maybe ask you about the project?" he seemed a little hesitant with that last bit but Will didn't mind.

"Sure, I'm glad you made it. So I was thinking that I'd write something based on mythology since that's been a constant theme lately in class and you could add illustrations for it, that is if you feel up to it, I won't force you or anything." He said hurriedly so that Nico didn't feel pressured.

"I think I can manage, what kind of myth do you want to do?" Nico asked as they began to walk out of the school.

Will thought about it for a moment before turning back to look at Nico. "How do you feel about Greek mythology?"

Nico smirked. "I live for it."

Will laughed at his answer. "Well then I guess we'll do just fine. Now this will probably take some time so why don't we get started right away?" he asked as they reached the school parking lot.

"What did you have in mind?" Nico asked.

Will fished for his keys and pulled them out as they reached his car.

"How about we hang out at each other's houses and work on it as much as we can to be sure we get as much done as soon as possible? You can come to my house or vice versa during the weekend." He looked at his phone and saw that it was getting close to dinner. "How about I give you a lift, I'll take you home today so that you don't have to take the bus."

Nico seemed to think everything over for a couple heartbeats before agreeing. "Okay, uh to both. I guess you can come over after school tomorrow and we can work on it. That way I'll have my supplies with me and we can do some rough sketches or whatever we need to do while we figure things out."

Will smiled and nodded as he opened the door for Nico. "Sounds like a plan."

 **Well that took a while to get updated huh? Sorry 'bout that... But hey Chapter 2! Yay and I already have a bit of Chapter 3 written so hopefully I'll have that up relatively soon... (Never believe me when I say soon, you won't be as disappointed that way)**

 **Please let me know what you think!**

 **By the way I just got a new job so I'm going to be crazy busy coming but I'll do my best to update I promise!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Will was so giddy today that he felt like he could fly.

He had spent much of the night before reading various Greek myths to try and narrow down the choices of what they could base their story on and he had come up with what he thought would be the perfect myth. He hoped that Nico like the idea he had, he had a feeling that this was the perfect one to incorporate Nico's amazing artwork in.

When English came around Will and Nico moved to sit together and discus what to make the story about. Will pulled out the print outs he's brought with him for the myth and some examples of artwork he'd found for it online.

"So what do you think?" Will asked almost losing the battle with himself to keep the eagerness out of his voice, now if only he could keep his leg from bouncing so much he might just be able to pull of the cool and calm air he's trying to pull off right now.

He watched as Nico's eyes skimmed over the pages as he read and then flipped to the art pieces.

"You want to do this one?" it was basically impossible to tell what Nico was thinking as he asked that, damn his amazing ability to hide what he's thinking or feeling!

"Yeah, I really love this one and I thought it would be something that could really go well with your art style."

Nico was quiet for a moment as he gathered the pages together neatly and passed them back to Will. "Alright."

"Really?" Will hated how much it showed that he was pleased with Nico's response.

"Sure. Are you still planning on coming over after school today?" Nico asked as he started making little jot notes along the side of his page that outlined the requirements for the project.

"Yeah. If you want we can pick something to eat up on the way to your place so we don't have to pause for too long while working."

"Sure, sounds good."

…

They had spent the rest of class making jot notes about the important parts of the story and what parts to work with for their own.

Nico had made a list of things to doodle for an idea of what things might look like before he even settled on what to make for the rough sketches. Will was blown away by just how much work went into the planning process but he loved watching how absorbed in his work Nico got when he was focusing.

After class Will asked Nico to join him for lunch so that they could go over what they had so far and try to come up with an outline for the story itself. Once they got to the cafeteria though they got a lot of looks that seemed to make Nico a little more distant than before so Will decided it would be best to go somewhere more private to eat and discuss their plans.

When they reached a more secluded spot Nico visibly relaxed and Will felt like he could breathe a little easier too.

…

Finally school let out for the day and Will headed to the parking lot to wait by his car for Nico, he'd already sent him a text letting him know where to meet him.

 **Nico: Be right there, just talking with my sister.**

 **Will: Would she like a ride too?**

 **Nico: No she's going out with her boyfriend so she won't be home until later. Thanks for the offer though.**

 **Will: No problem.**

Though Nico had spoken about Hazel from time to time Will hadn't really gotten the chance to meet her more than a few times in passing. She seemed like a really sweet girl though and Nico seemed really fond of her. According to Nico Hazel was one of the reasons he likes to draw so much so Will would have to thank her one day.

Will threw in a random CD to listen to while he waited for Nico. About halfway through the second song there was a tap on the passenger side winder and Will jumped slightly but realized that it was Nico and reached over to open the door for him, not like it was locked or anything, he just wanted to be a gentleman.

"Hey." Nico said as he settled into the seat and put his belt on.

"Hey. So where would you like to stop for takeout?" Will asked as he put the car into drive and pulled out of the student parking lot.

Nico shrugged. "Don't really know, I'm not really picky."

Well that was good at least. "So anything would be fine?" Will asked as they merged into after school traffic.

"Sure, whatever you feel like will be fine." Nico said, though it seemed like he was disinterested he didn't give off the feeling of being rude, more like open to suggestion so Will took the opportunity to find something good for them to pick up on the way to Nico's.

"There's this sandwich shop not too far from here that has a great selection and you can get a meal with a soup or salad and a drink for about $10 so I like to go there. Actually the coach took us there to celebrate a win one time and I've basically been a regular ever since." Will said with a smile on his face as he thought about one of his favorite places to grab something to eat when he was in a hurry.

"Sounds good." Nico said and Will almost swore there was a bit of a smile playing at the edge of his lips.

"Great!" Will was pretty happy he could share this with Nico.

It only took about three minutes to drive to the sandwich shop even with all of the traffic which was still great time so Will pulled into the small parking lot and parked close to the building's main entrance then he and Nico got out and headed inside.

Will knew what he would get right away; he was in love with the cheddar bagel turkey BLT with a side of the soup of the day and a strawberry smoothie so he hung back a bit while he waited for Nico to check out the menu board.

He watched as Nico scanned the wide selections of breads and sandwiches and the build your own option.

Really this place was in the perfect location for the hordes of teenagers that came in for lunch or after school meals, from what Will could tell this place was never empty. Maybe he could bring Nico back here again sometime, maybe they could even turn it into a regular outing! Not like a date or anything, just two friends getting lunch, maybe something to eat before going to a movie or something. Wait would Nico want to go to a movie with him? Maybe he could ask after they finish their English project?

"Will?" Nico tapped him on his shoulder nearly causing him to jump out of his skin.

"Huh?" yeah real smooth there will, way to go off to La La Land while you're supposed to be getting dinner at a place you recommended. He chastised himself.

"I figured out what I'm going to get, what about you?" Nico asked as he watched him, probably checking to see if he was going to space out on him again.

"Yeah, I come here often enough that I've got a favorite so I'll just stick with that I think." Will said with and easy going smile and approached the till before he did anything else to look like a complete space cadet around his crush. He placed his order and waited for Nico to do the same, part of him wanted to pay for both of their meals together but he didn't know if Nico was alright with someone else treating him so he'd hold back for now.

After they got their food to go they got back into the car and Will let Nico pick a CD to listen to during the drive to his place. Passenger is the DJ after all.

 **Sponge Bob narrator voice: "ONE YEAR LATER..."**

 **I am so so so freakin sorry this took so long guys! But hey the past couple of days my fingers have just been flying across the keyboard so I hope this lives up to your standards, also I should be able to get another chapter or two done coming up because I have a plan of where I want to go with this so please enjoy!**

 **Please let me know what you think!**


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